Iranian MP Calls for Serious Efforts to Counter ISIL Terrorists
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian lawmaker hailed recent achievements in Syria and Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group and said efforts to repel ISIL threats should continue with more determination.
"The news about recent victories against the ISIL Takfiri (extremist) terrorists in Iraq and Syria has made the Iranian people happy," Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Research Center Kazem Jalali said in a Monday meeting with Hakim al-Zamili, the chairman of the Iraqi parliament's national security and defense commission in Tehran.
"The efforts (against ISIL) should continue with more strength so that the regional sedition is completely dealt with," he underscored.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian MP pointed to the cultural and historical affinities between the Iranian and Iraqi people and called for efforts to utilize the capacities for promoting bilateral relations in all spheres.
The Iraqi parliamentarian, for his part, praised strong ties between Tehran and Baghdad, saying the Iraqi people believe that Iran's continued supports for them in the fight against ISIL militants have resulted in great achievements.
Iraq has been facing the growing threat of terrorism, mainly posed by ISIL.
The ISIL militants made swift advances in much of northern and western Iraq over the last summer, after capturing large swaths of northern Syria.
However, a combination of concentrated attacks by the Iraqi military and the volunteer forces, who rushed to take arms after top Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa calling for fight against the militants, have blunted the edge of the ISIL offensive.
Amid tensions in Iraq, Iran is known as the first country to help the Arab country and has always voiced support for Iraq's territorial integrity and prosperity.
